Shade-holding device.



P. G. EMERY.

SHADE HOLDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23. 1916.

Patented Apr. 15,1919.

PLATO-e. EMERY, or cHIcAeo, ILLINOIS.

sHAIDE HoLDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Application filed. September 23, 1916. Serial No.121,722.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PLATO Gr. EMERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shade-Holding Devices, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as. will enable others skilled in the artto which .it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a imple, effective and durable attachment for shades and curtains, such as are employed in street or railway cars, for the purpose of holding the shadeor curtain in any desired position against thetension of the spring in the curtain roller. 7

In carrying outmy invention I place all of the mechanism in or on a shade stick and so proportion the parts that they may be all completely assembled and adjusted be fore the stick is slipped into the pocket provided for it in the shade or curtain.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointedout with particularit in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragment of a car side, viewed fromthe interior, and illustrating portions of several windows provided with curtains equipped in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken approximately on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the shade stick being left in elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section on an enlarged scale through one end of the shade stick.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents a curtain or shade mounted on a suitable roller supported between the side members, 2, 2, of a window frame. In the lower end of the curtain is a stick, 3, having at either or both ends a hook-shaped projection 4:, which, as will hereinafter be explained, tends constantly to move inwardly into the end of the stick. The member 4 interlocks with a flange or plate, 5, on the frame extending lengthwise of the member 2 in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the curtain or shade. I In the arrangement shown, the member 5is one of the flanges of a shallow metal channel, 6, secured upon the frame member 2, each of the flanges of the member 6 serving as a track or rail for cooperation with one of the hookson two adjacent curtains. If each stick is provided with only one of the yieldable members I, it must have at its opposite end some kind of interlocking device in order that the member 4 may be placed under tension and thus secure frictional resistance between the ends of the shade stick and the window frame. Ordinarily, however, both ends of the shade stick will be made alike.

' The shade stick is preferably made in the form of a simple rigid tube somewhat shorter than the width of the shade. Adjustably secured in the end of the stick is a sleeve, 7. The leeve is conveniently held in place by providing it with a screw threaded reduced inner end, 8, which is simply screwed into the end of the stick and is ofsui'ficient length to give a rigid support to the leev when screwed only partly into the stick. The

sleeve preferably has between the ends I thereof a shoulder, 9, facing toward the outer-end of the sleeve so as to serve as a stop for engaging the inner end of the member 4 which extends into and is supported by the outer end of the sleeve. A rod, 10, rigidly connected to the inner end of the membert, extends from the latter throu h the inner end of the sleeve and into t e curtain stick proper. On the rod, beyond the inner end of the sleeve 7, is a spring, 11, arranged between adjusting nuts, 12, on the rod and a washer, 14, surrOunding the rod and abutting against the inner end of the sleeve. The spring is placed under an initial tension so that it tends to hold the inner end of the hook member 4 against the shoulder 9. The parts are so adjusted, before be ing placed in the window, that the hook or hooks must be withdrawn somewhat to bring them into engagement with the cooperating tracks, thus insuring that they will always be held against the tracks with a yielding pressure. The tension of the spring, and therefore the pressure with which the hook is held against the track, is controlled by adjusting nuts, 12, while the length of the stick is controlled by screwing the sleeves in and out.

It will be seen that each sleeve with its hook and tension devices is a complete unit which is interchangeable with every other unit in a series of fixtures, while the main body of the stick is a simple tube which, also, is interchangeable with every other stick. Furthermore, unlike those devices having friction shoes that are pressed outwardly, my improved device does not require vertically elongated shoes, but the hooks 4 need not be made longer in the vertical direction than the diameter of the stick. Consequently the stick with its holding and tension devices may be completely assembled and adjusted before it is placed in the curtain, so that when it is once in the curtain, the curtain is ready to be placed in the window without need of further adjustment.

In order to hold the stick in place, a screw, 7 15, Or other device may extend through the curtain material and into the stick, a single fastening device of this kind being sufficient to prevent the stick from slipping out endwise.

It will be seen that the hook-like. shoe member, 4, is freely revoluble, so that any accidental or unauthorized turning of this member will not result in changing the adjustment of the parts. This characteristic furthermore permits the stick to be fastened in place in the curtain without paying any special attention to its position considered angularly of its axis, because the shoes may always be turned around to bring them into proper relation to cooperating tracks.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions-ofrmy invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim: l

1. A curtain stick, a sleeve adjustably and detachably secured in the end of said stick, a shoe slidable in and projecting beyondthe outer end of said sleeve, a part extending from said shoe through the sleeve and out of the inner end of the latter, a spring surrounding said part beyond said sleeve and engaging with the inner end of the latter, and a nut on said part engaging with the inner end of thespring.

2. A curtain stick, a sleeve adjustably and detachably secured in one end of theastick, said sleeve having an outwardly directed shoulder in the interior thereof, a friction shoe in the outer end of said sleeve adapted to engage with said shoulder, a rod extending from the friction shoe through the sleeve and for some distance beyondthe inner end ofthe-sleeve, a springsurrounding said rod beyondand in engagement with the inner end of the sleeve, and a nut on said rod engaging the inner end of the spring;

In testimony whereof, I sign this speci-i fication. v

PLATO G. EMERY;

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

